Adrian Klemm knows how the other half lives. The UCLA offensive line coach returned from a recruiting trip in December, only to find he was the one being wooed. USC Coach Steve Sarkisian had called to make Klemm an offer few could refuse, one that all but included the deed to the McKay Center. But UCLA Coach Jim Mora was on his way to the airport to greet Klemm carrying his own offer, one unprecedented for a Bruins assistant coach. Klemm, selected the Pac-12 Conference's recruiter of the year in 2012 by the recruiting websites Sports 24/7 and Scout.com, stayed with UCLA, accepting an offer believed to be about $700,000 annually.

Every new recruiting year, fans look forward to seeing what innovative ideas teenagers can come up with to announce their college choices. Lately, most have been stuck on the cap routine, in which an athlete reveals the winning school by lifting one of three baseball caps on a desk while trying to keep the TV audience in suspense. Or they try to emulate LeBron James with "I will be taking my talents to.... " With signing day on Wednesday for high school football players, get ready for 72 hours of recruiting mania on TV and the Internet.

As letter of intent day approaches on Wednesday and committing and decommitting picks up steam, it's a good time to remember the tale of Jordan Payton, who two years ago was in the national spotlight as a receiver at Westlake Village Oaks Christian. During his recruiting year, he made commitments to USC, California and Washington, twice going on national TV to make his announcement. On signing day, he changed again and signed with UCLA. "It's crazy, but the people have to understand this process is crazy," Payton said in 2012.

A small group of Internet-obsessed UCLA football fans were worked into a frenzy Friday from reports that a Louisiana State coach was on the same flight with high school players from that state who were coming to Westwood. Tigers' offensive coordinator Cam Cameron flew west at the same time as receiver Malachi Dupre (River Ridge Curtis High), linebacker Kenny Young (Curtis High), and defensive end Davon Godchaux (Plaquemine High), who are on official visits to UCLA. There's a word for it: recruiting.

After months of recruiting, Gardena Serra defensive back Adoree' Jackson has a Final Four. Next Wednesday, he will announce his college choice among Florida, LSU, USC and UCLA. Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

When it comes to reviews of "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," superlatives are in short supply. Most movie critics agree that the reboot of the Tom Clancy action franchise, starring Chris Pine and directed by Kenneth Branagh, is competent - or "serviceable," or "workmanlike," or even "fairly diverting" - but not particularly compelling. The Times' Kenneth Turan writes that compared to previous films in the franchise (such as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games"), "as well as the modern gold standard of the genre as represented by the 'Bourne' epics, 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit' comes off as a reasonable facsimile, serviceable but not compelling, something that could pass for the real thing if you're not looking too hard.

Chris Pine was well aware of his action-hero options. Accepting the lead role in "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" - the $60-million thriller that hits theaters Friday - the actor became the fourth man to portray novelist Tom Clancy's iconic CIA super-spy character over the course of a five-film franchise that has spanned nearly a quarter of a century and generated more than $787 million at the box office. As such, Pine's performance could have paid implicit homage to those who came before him. He might have channeled the brisk efficiency of Alec Baldwin's submarine-bound Ryan in "The Hunt for Red October," Harrison Ford's reluctant (and frequently grimacing)

We all know you can't tell a book by its cover, but can you tell a film by its release date? Where "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," is concerned, that becomes a bit of a trick question. A glance at the calendar reminds us that this tale of espionage and derring-do starring Chris Pine as CIA analyst Jack Ryan is coming to theaters in January, the traditional elephant burial ground for major studio releases. But before "The Wolf of Wall Street" dislodged it into 2014, "Jack Ryan" possessed a coveted Christmas slot all its own. So is this film a holiday gem slumming in the low-rent district, or a tawdry impostor stripped of ideas above its station?

The highest-ranking woman in the history of the Los Angeles Fire Department has announced her retirement, leaving no female officers among the agency's top command staff of deputy and assistant chiefs. The departure of Deputy Chief Roxanne V. Bercik comes as the department is struggling to hire and promote more women after a string of large city payouts for alleged sexual discrimination in the ranks. Bercik, 55, had been a leading advocate for recruiting and promoting more female firefighters.

Mayor Eric Garcetti acknowledged Monday that Los Angeles was continuing to have trouble diversifying its ranks of firefighters, saying he did not expect much progress with the first class of recruits on his watch. “I haven't seen all of the stats, but what I've heard initially, I'm not satisfied with,” Garcetti said. “I think we need to have greater diversity in the recruit classes.” Later this month, Garcetti plans to welcome the city's first class of new Fire Department recruits in years.